Reality Check: Maturity

Ever since I was in middle school, I have been craving independence. Every middle school kid wants to be the ideal adult; with the life all planned out, amazing clothes, successful job, and a solid relationship with a significant other. I, selfishly, assumed that I was almost there {minus the job and relationship} but I felt I was budding as a new adult seed. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I was faced with a situation I had never been faced with before - something I wasn't ready to handle and caused me a lot of stress.

It all started when I signed up to dog sit for my neighbors when they went away for a long weekend. Their dog is super adorable and they are really the nicest couple. I have dog sat for the couple a few times before, so it was a routine event - nothing out of the ordinary, so I thought. Everything was great up until one morning, the house felt really different. The dog was there and all and the furniture was intact, but something felt odd {and more importantly, smelt odd!} I walked upstairs to found that the dog has pooped all over the carpet in the hallway and in the couple's bedroom. A mix of fear, shock, and anxiety washed over my body. I had no idea what to do. Do I call them? Do I leave it? Who do I call? All these thoughts zipped through my brain. I immediately called my mom, explained the situation, and she came over with a huge bottle of 'club soda' and Shout. We cleaned everything, flood cleaner and all, and it all looked good; except for a light stain that still was on the carpet. I was scared, but I knew I had to tell the couple what happened. Luckily, this had happened before with the dog, which made me less nervous.

This whole event, as stupid as it sounds, was a big teaching moment. I thought I was ready to be an 'adult'. I thought I had reached a level of maturity that naturally came with age and I wouldn't have to "add on" to it, in a sense. Boy was I wrong! It is okay as an adult to ask for help and learn from mistakes. Maturity isn't something that fully comes with age. You continuously add onto it with experience from your life's journeys. You are shaped by your experiences. There are different stages of maturity and they are shaped by the way you react and treat certain situations.

xoxo